Pneumatic apparatus for transferring grain



(No Mqdel.) 4 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

J. LEWIS. PNEUMATIC APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING GRAIN. No. 351,783.Patented Nov..2, 1886.

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J'. LEWIS. .PNEUMATIG APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING GRAIN. No. 351,783.Patented Nov. V2, 1886.

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PNEUMATIG APPARATUS FOR TRANSFBRRING GRAIN.

Pa'tentedNov. 2, 1886.

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4 Sheets-Sheet A.

J. LEWIS. PNEUMATIC APPARATUS FOR TRANSFEERING GRAIN. No. 351,783.

PatentedNov. Z, 1886.

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UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH LEWIS, or SOUTH EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATICAPPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING GRAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent NO. 351,'783, datedNovember 2, 1886.

Application filed February 13,1886. Serial No. 191,836. (No model.)

State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement inPneumatic Apparatus for Transferring Grain, of which the following is aspecification.

In the Letters Patent to me of September 18, 1883, No. 285,047, there isshown a nozzle intended to be held in the hand during use in unloadingor drawing grain from a car or other receptacle, such nozzle beingprovided with vent-tubes placed parallel to the nozzle and extendingdown to the orifice thereof, for the purpose of supplying air to theorifice and preventingchokingatthatpoint. Thisvented nozzle, while iteffectually prevented'choking, is subject, I find, to anotherobjectiouviz., that it so reduces the Sucking-power of the inducedcurrent in the pipe to which the nozzle is attached, and due to theelevating-blast in the mainelevating-passage of the apparatus, that thegrain is not economically moved; hence I have been led to substitute forsaid vented nozzle the devices hereinafter described. I

Instead of relying upon the induced current of my said patent to suck upthe grain into the same, (although such induced current may be andshould be present when the nozzle is connected to an elevating-blast inthe manner shown in said patent,) I furnish the. nozzle with anupwardly-directed blast or jetof air at a point just within its mouth,whereby to create the necessary suction at the mouth to draw in, and atthe same time to propel, the grain on its upward course and prevent thechoking. The primary feature of my invention consists in thecombination, with the nozzle, of this blast thus delivered thereto in anupward direction and just within its month.

In order that the nozzle and its accompanying blast may be moved aboutin the car or receptacle and kept in contact with the grain, I make thegrain and air pipes with which they are connected flexible, either bythe use of universal joints or by making the pipes themselves offlexible material; and my invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section of my invention. Fig. 2is a like View of a'modification thereof. Fig. 3 shows a transfer-carprovided with an air-supplying engine, 5

be inserted and moved about in the body of grain to be transferred fromthe car B or other receptacle. It is preferably cone or bell shaped atthe mouth.

0 O is the blast-supplying pipe, terminating in thejet a, passingthrough to the inside 6 nozzle A. At the same time it propels the grainupward in the grain-tube and avoids any choking at the mouth of thegrain-nozzle.

As the grain-nozzle and its air-supplying tubes must be moved about inthe grain, I connect them to the stationary parts of the elevator ortransfer apparatusbypipes which are flexi- I ble. This flexibility maybe obtained by making the pipes themselves flexible or by form ing themof metal in sect-ions united by joints which permit the requiredmovement-s. prefer to make one of the pipes at least partly of flexiblematerial and the other of metal with the flexible joints, so that thelatter may be made to project horizontally, and also be made to supportand guide the other. in Fig. 1 the grain-pipe is made to embody aflexible or hose section, A, while the air-pipe is wholly metal, thelatter being provided with a face-flange joint between the sections 0and O, and a universal or globe joint between 0 the latter and post 0 Inthe former of these joints the ends of the pipe-sections are bent downand up so as to meet, and provided with flanges O and C", respectively,and are held togetherbyabolt, Cipassing centrally through 5 the globe Oon the section 0, and an inclos- 10o ing-shell, G on the post, theformer having a spreading mouth, O so the supply of air may Thus 8 5 becontinuous, and the latter an elongated opening, 0, like that shown inFig. 5, to allow the vertical movement of the pipe.

The air-blast may be introduced to the interior of post 0 and fromthence into the pipe 0 G. Said post may also be capable of movementaround its vertical axis. I obtain this freedom by providing the postwith a stationary base, D, and secure i t thereto by a sleeve, D,inclosing said base, and secured to the movable post,as by bolts (2, anda central belt, I), passing through diaphragm D and the end of theairconduit E, connecting with the bottom of the post, and by providingthetop of the post with a globejoint, A, uniting it to the branch A,leading to the elevator-building or to the place where the grainis to bedischarged. By widening the opening A" in the globe of this joint theconduit A maybe allowed to rise and fall without obstructing the passagethrough which the grain is lifted.

In the modification, Fig. 2, the grain-pipeis composed of two metalsections, A and A coupled together by a face-flange joint, A, and bolt,similar to that already described and shown in Fig. 1 as uniting thesections Quad C of the air-pipe. In this case, also, the nozzle A isunited to the section A by a universal globe-joint, A, siniilarto thatatA in Fig. 1, so that the nozzle may be inclined in any direction andmoved laterally, while the vertical movement is permitted by theflexible or hose section A, connecting the section A with the conduit Aor globe-joint A, and pivoting said section A to the post at A. Theblast pipe 0 0, used with the grain-pipe just described, is providedwith a flexible or hose connection, 0*, extending to the post, andsupported, if necessary, in the coupling A, as shown. The post in thismodification may, as in the other case, form a part of the conduit forthe air, and have a similar base, D, and be held thereon by a similarsleeve, D, secu red to or integral with the post, and bolt D In orderthat the attendant who guides the nozzle to the grain may not be obligedto sustain the entire weight of the nozzle and its connections abovedescribed, I provide a spring, F, extending from the sleeve 1) andsupporting the pipes, as in Fig. 1; or, in lieu of the spring,acounterbalancewei ght, F, upon the arm F", projecting to the rear fromone of the metal sections of pipe as, for instance, A"m'ay be employed,as in Fig. 2; or, if more convenient, the nozzle may be supported fromthe elevator building or tower.

The apparatus above setforth may be mounted upon a car, It, asillustrated in the several figures, or it may be stationarily located.It

may be employed to draw the grain from one car or vessel into another,or into or from the elevator, or from one bin or receptacle to another.It may be connected and deliver the grain to a force-blast apparatus,such as is shown in my patent already mentioned, or to asuction-elevator, such as is used with the form of apparatus shown inpatent to me of October 23, 1883, No. 287,033. Vhen. mounted upon a car,the air-blast may be supplied through conduit E by the air-compressingengine II and its boiler II',placed upon the same car.

In Fig. a my invention is shown as taking the grain from the hold of avessel, J, and de livering it .into the chute K of an elevatorbuilding,L. This chute may convey the material to the hopper M, from which it maybe lifted to the upper part of the building or into connection with thedischarge-pipe N, by which the car 0 may be loaded. If the grain is tobe transferred directly from the vessel J to car 0, then the conduit A,instead of being extended to chute K, is simply carried to the inside ofcar 0.

In loading cars and vessels, especially when done through the roof ordeck, a very eonveir icnt device for directing the flow so the grain maybe evenlydistributed and leveled without shoveling by hand will be foundin the discharge-nozzle 1. (Shown in Figs. 2 and 4.) Being provided witha globular enlargement, P, held in a globular shell, I, like the globeand shell A of Fig. l inverted, the nozzle can be given a wide range ofmovement, and the grain directed to any part of the room being tilled.

The discharge-pipe N may be supported from the building by a swingingbracket, S, so that when not in use it may be turned fiat against thewall.

The dotted lines in Fig. 4 indicate the range of movement permitted tothe grain-nozzle, and the arrows in all the figures show the directionof the blast.

hen the inlet-nozzle pipes are properly supported by the spring orbalance-weight, the nozzle may-be guided by a gentle handpressure intothe grain, and by giving it a circular pendulum-like motion the drawingup of the grain will be greatly facilitated. The operation need be nomore severe on the attendant than the use of a broom.

I claim-- 1. The combination, in a pneumatic graintransl'erzipprlr'atus, of the grain-pipe A A and nozzle A, made of metal andconnected by flexible joints, as set forth, with the air pipe (3 c andits flexible or hose connections 0 substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the inlet-nozzle and the air-jet and theirconnecting-pipes, of the counterbalaneewcight, substantially asspecified.

3. The combination, with the inlet-nozzle and jet and theirconnecting-pipes, of the ro- IIO tatii'e post, to which said pipes arejoined, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the inlet-nozzle and jet and theirconnecting-pipes, of the post to which said pipes are joined, said postforming part of the air-conduit supplying the jet, substantially asspecified.

5. The combination, with the post, of the l pipe embodying one or morefleizible joints,

graiupipe A A pivoted to the post at A,

and the hosesection A connecting said pipe to the discharge-pipe,substantially as specified.

6. The combination, with the car It, of the post supporting both grainand air pipes, as set forth, andan air-compressing engine connected tosaid air-pipes, substantially as specified. 7. The combination, with arotative post, of the globe-jointed discharge-conduit, substantially asspecified.

8. The post 0 the grain-feed pipe, and the grain-discharge pipecommunicating with said feed-pipe and joined to the post by aglobejoint, in combination with blast-producing apparatus, substantiallyas specified.

9. In a pnenmatictransfer grain apparatus, a rigid horizontal grain orair pipe pivotally joined to its support, so as to swing up and down,and consisting of two or more fleXib1yjoined sections, in combinationwith a coinpanion air or grain pipe, substantially as set forth.

10. In a pneumatic transfer grain apparatus, a rigidhorizontally-projecting grain or air in combination with a flexiblecompanion air or grain pipe supported by said rigid pipe, substantiallyas set forth. I

' 11. In a pneumatic grain-transfer apparatus, a rigidhorizontally-pr'ojecting grain or air pipe pivotally joined to itssupport, so as to be capable of np-and-down motion, and a companion airor grain pipe, in combination with a flexibly-joined inlet-nozzle andair-jet, substantially as set forth.

12. The grain-pipeshown,consisting ofmetal sections united by flexiblejoints, one of said joints being a horizontal face-flange joint to givehorizontal movement,and another aglobejoint, substantially as set forth.

13. In pneumatic grain-transfer apparatus,

the combination, with a rigid horizontal grain pipe and its support, ofthe pend ulous pipe A,

suspended from said horizontal pipe by aglobejoint allowing it to swingin any direction,

substantially as specified.

JOSEPH LEWIS.

WVitnesses: a

H. M. IVIUNDAY, LEW. E. Oonrrrs.

